Fragmentation
by Jennarous
Summary: Succubi are creatures that live off love. When Tsukune shows that he only has eyes for Moka, Kurumu finally realizes that he will never choose her. As Kurumu's mind and body slowly begin to degenerate, Naruto appears. Will his warmth be enough to save her?
1. Prologue

Naruto Uzumaki roamed the edges of the dreary forest searching for threats. The forest was silent; the only thing that accompanied him were the tall, barren trees that loomed over him. Naruto let out a soft groan, he hated going on missions alone. With Konoha still recovering from the recent war with Pein, not many ninjas were available for missions.

He had just finished the A rank mission that was assigned to him, eliminating the band of ninjas with ease. Having undergone fierce training over the last couple months, not much was difficult for the Toad Sage. Unfortunately, this left the unpredictable ninja rather bored, but he couldn't complain too much about his missions. Even Naruto had enough tact to realize that he shouldn't grouse too much at the Hokage with the village's current condition. As the blond made his way back to Konoha, he scanned the dark woodlands, figuring it would be best to look out for any additional threats.

All of the sudden, Naruto heard a faint, female voice pleading in his mind, _"Why didn't you choose me? I gave you everything I had..."_

The reckless ninja paused in his tracks, surveying the area for any abnormalities. Being a Jinchuuriki, Naruto was used to hearing Kurama constantly admonish him, but the fox didn't seem to notice or acknowledge the feminine voice.

Naruto was puzzled; after doing a quick check in sage mode, he confirmed that there wasn't any signs of animal life in the desolate forest, but he sensed something unnatural. Furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, he enhanced his senses once again. This time, his search wasn't fruitless - Naruto noticed a faint ripple in an area only a few meters away. Unable to contain his curiosity, the kindhearted boy made his way to the odd undulation.

Naruto pursed his lips and leaned towards the ripple. Knitting his eyebrows in confusion, he prodded at the small area with a kunai, not daring to touch it with his bare skin. He let out a startled yelp as he was suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar place.

Unwilling to alert anyone of his unexpected predicament, Naruto had to restrain himself from yelling as he tumbled through the open sky. The lithe ninja contorted his body and let out a burst of wind chakra to orient himself, allowing him to land soundlessly and unharmed in a crouched position.

Naruto stood and took in his surroundings. He was in a rather large city that was littered with trash and various cans. Among the trash, Naruto spotted a wet newspaper covered in Japanese text, assuring him that he was still in the same country. Looking around, Naruto once again heard the female voice, louder this time, _"I'm breaking, please help me."_

Naruto's serious face twisted to one of concern. Who was this woman speaking in his mind? He carefully assessed his surroundings, unable to detect any danger Naruto continued to search for the woman in distress.

After several minutes of searching, Naruto finally located the woman. Standing still, Naruto quietly observed her. She was sitting alone against a building, her arms wrapped around her legs in a protective position. Her face was downcast against her knees and her bright blue hair was pulled up into a ponytail. She had a cute purple headband embroidered with frills and a single, yellow star. She sported a long white shirt topped with a pale yellow vest, and a short, brown, plaid skirt. Her legs were adorned with loose white stockings and black dress shoes. Her light blue bangs framed her nice, pale face and her body shook lightly with restrained sobs.

Naruto silently walked up to her, carefully observing her to gauge her reactions. To Naruto's surprise, the distraught girl noticed his noiseless footsteps and her head quickly shot up. The girl's shining, amethyst eyes focused on him. She made a cursory observation of his figure, noting his odd attire and bright blond, spiky hair. He donned a simple, long sleeved black shirt with an orange swirl in the center and long khaki pants.

Naruto's purposeful stride faltered when his eyes locked onto hers. Her eyes were beautiful, but they shone with bright tears. They conveyed an underlying message, a world of pain and loneliness. Her poignant eyes tugged at his heart strings, reminding him too much of his own, only years before.

With that in mind, he resumed his walk towards her, this time with a firmer resolve. She frostily observed him advancing towards her, not willing to open up to a complete stranger. Unfazed by her glare, he crouched down next to her, watching as her eyes turned defensive. It was only through his own cruel experiences that he decided to ignore that.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: So sorry for the false update last night! When I uploaded the chapter, I didn't realize that I lost part of my story when my computer crashed. My apologies, again, I tried to get this chapter up as fast as possible. The chapter is a tad shorter than I'd like, but I felt that it was a suitable place to end the chapter.

* * *

Naruto had long outgrown his unnatural fetish for orange. The sage, who was most certainly not obsessed with orange, peered into the mansion's closet that last belonged to the Yondaime; it was only rightfully returned to the son days before. He internally repeated his thoughts like a mantra. _I'm not obsessed with orange. I'm not obsessed with orange…_ The blond flipped through the rack of clothes, noting that all of the garments had the Uzumaki crest emblazoned somewhere on them. Naruto grinned, he was always proud to be an Uzumaki.

Naruto mumbled to his self as he flicked through the attire, "White shirt? Nah, white's too bright, navy blue? Nope, don't want to look like all of the jounin. Pink…? No."

The mantra that was firmly locked into his mind came to a grinding halt when he came across a long, black sleeve shirt. The front was decorated with a large, orange Uzumaki swirl in the center. The inside was lined with thin, but durable, chain mail designed to block, or alleviate, the brunt of physical attacks. The excitable ninja couldn't stop from beaming at the shirt, it was perfect. Naruto let out a sigh. He couldn't lie to himself, he was most definitely obsessed with orange, no matter how much his friends tried to beat it out of him.

Naruto looked at the other clothes he laid out on his bed. On the left, he had pair of black ninja sandals, those were a given, he couldn't imagine wearing anything else. Next to those, he had a pair of khakis and a pair of black pants. He reluctantly put away the orange pants he had always worn. Sakura had always told him that he should wear more neutral colors, so the enemy ninja would have a harder time identifying him. Naruto had no doubt that he could avoid the enemy ninja, but he figured that he would have to make some compromises to mollify the fiery woman.

When his eyes reached the far right side of his large bed, he couldn't contain his smile. He had his blood red cloak that he had donned during his fight with Pein. It was made in a style similar to his father's, with black flames licking the bottom of the cloak and the word "guts" written on the back. After all, he was named after the main character in _The Gutsy Ninja, _andNaruto truly did believe that guts made a ninja. Naruto absolutely loved the bold cloak, as it gave him a chance to honor his father and Jiraiya.

Sporting his new, black shirt, khaki pants, and black ninja sandals, Naruto started packing for the mission Granny Tsunade had assigned him. Naruto sealed the remainder of his clothes, weapons, and other belongings into a scroll before placing it into the black pouch that was strapped onto one of his two belts. He had two black belts that hung around his waist. One was worn in the traditional fashion and had gravity seals that he had made imprinted along the sides. There were ten white kanji indented across his belt at even intervals, to an average person, they would appear to be a simple decoration. To a ninja, they wouldn't draw any attention unless the individual was familiar with fuuinjutsu. The second belt was only strapped on one side and hung diagonally across his waist. This belt had three pouches attached at the side to store his weapons, materials for fuuinjutsu, and other miscellaneous things.

Before exiting his mansion, Naruto examined his reflection in the mirror. He frowned as he ran his fingers through his hair, it was getting rather long. The hair in the back reached the bottom of his neck. In the front, his hair hung down the sides of his head to frame his angular face and his bangs grew to cover a portion of his black hitai-ate.

The hyperactive blond bounced out of his mansion and headed towards the Hokage's tower, he wanted to say bye to Granny Tsunade before he left for his mission. He reached the large window by her office and grinned, he knew that she'd detect him immediately.

Naruto was proven correct when Tsunade sharply swiveled to glare at him before narrowing her eyes and demanding, "Why can't you enter like a normal person?"

The boy gave a sheepish grin and held out his hands in a gesture to appease the woman. "Hey Granny Tsunade," he defended himself, "I just wanted to say bye one last time before I left." He gave the Hokage a wink, "You estimated that the mission would take a month, but just watch me! I'll finish it in a week!"

The Godaime Hokage hid a smile and teased the earnest boy, "There's no way you'll eliminate the band of ninjas in a mere week, even if you are one of the most capable ninjas in the village now. I'll wager that it will take you at least a month."

Naruto grinned and gave a mock huff of indignation before he gave her one last hug and departed the office. Tsunade smiled as she watched her favorite blond dart off to say goodbye to his other friends. In her mind, she had no doubt that Naruto couldn't complete his own challenge. She knew that it would take any typical Jōnin a month to complete the mission. Years ago, he had taught her how far guts and determination could take someone, and she would never forget that lesson.

* * *

Naruto departed the village, exiting through the imposing green doors. After a quick wave and smile to the two Chūnin on guard, the blond headed north towards the Land of Lightning to carry out his mission.

The group of depraved ninja was highly skilled according to the briefing he had been given. They were all ranked as A-Class Missing-nins in the bingo book, but Tsunade was confident that Naruto could hunt and take down the ten of them single handedly.

Naruto's smooth journey was suddenly interrupted when he tripped on a tree branch. Out of nowhere, the shadow clone extraordinaire heard a voice beg, "_I'm right in front of you. Why can't you see me?"_

Perplexed, Naruto hastily reoriented himself, and after a close examination of his surroundings, he continued to hop limb from limb towards the outskirts of the Land of Lightning. After that bizarre occurrence, Naruto's journey was rather uneventful.

The restless blond sighed as he set up camp for the night. He hated not having anyone to converse with, as it reminded him of the countless nights he had spent alone as a child. After he finished nailing in the last stake, he crawled into the olive green tent and slipped into his cozy sleeping bag.

Naruto found a comfortable position and began to fall asleep. Unfortunately, his soon-to-be peaceful sleep was interrupted by the same female voice he had heard earlier, "_At this rate, I really will die."_

Naruto grimaced, he knew for a fact that no one was near him. It was even more frustrating that he couldn't help someone that was obviously in trouble. The negative thoughts plagued his mind and kept him tossing and turning until he finally fell into an uncomfortable slumber before he heard one last plea, _"Why me?"_

* * *

Kurumu heard her heart shatter. She couldn't take it. She couldn't take watching her Destined One look at another girl with so much love. Love that he had never taken the time to show her. Kurumu clutched at her chest and did the only thing she could. She turned around and ran.

Her steps echoed against the pavement as she sprinted as far as she could from the heart wrenching scene. With every step, she found it harder to breathe, harder to keep running, and harder to hold in her tears. Not long after, the broken hearted succubus collapsed against one of the buildings in the dimension that Touhou Fuhai had created.

Kurumu's mind reeled and her body shook with tremors. She found herself gasping for breath, barely remaining conscious. Her mother was right; rejection from a loved one was a million times more painful than any physical blow.

What was she going to do? She couldn't think of anything that would make her body stop quivering or her head to stop pounding. She crumpled into a fetal position, subconsciously trying to minimize the pain that coursed throughout her body.

As she drifted in and out of consciousness, a million thoughts and questions flitted across her mind. Painful questions that she knew she would never be able to ask him.

No one ever said that doing the right thing was easy. With a heavy heart, she did the best thing she could, for both her and Tsukune. Kurumu Kurono gave up.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he woke up and rubbed his eyes. He didn't sleep well at all. He grumbled to himself, "Where are these bizarre voices coming from? And what was with that odd dream I had last night? With all that white fog, I couldn't make anything out."

The ninja directed his thoughts to Kurama, "What do you think? Do have any idea about what's going on? Or am I just going crazy?"

The fox let out a bark of laughter, "Of course you're crazy, kit." After receiving a glare from the blond, Kurama turned serious, "I actually don't know what's going on. I couldn't hear the voice, and I normally stay out of your dreams. I don't need to witness the crazy dreams that you teenagers have."

Naruto murmured, "Whatever, I guess that I'll just have to figure it out later. I just need to focus on my mission now!"

The toad sage speedily hopped across the trees and reached his destination within the hour. He created a dozen shadow clones to search the border for the band of rogue ninjas. In mere minutes Naruto was able to locate the ninjas using his clones' information.

Tsunade's intellect was off. There were only six ninja in the entire area. Naruto scowled, he was hoping that he would at least have a challenge, now that he wasn't working on rebuilding the village. The boy shrugged and said to himself, "Might as well finish this quickly and get back to the village!" before entering sage mode.

The ninjas were split into three uneven groups, no doubt planning to raid the village separately. Naruto flashed a grin and decided to take the lone ninja first. That way the lone ninja couldn't alert his friends and receive help from the other ninja

Naruto startled the enemy ninja by suddenly appearing in front of him with a smirk. The trained enemy ninja didn't show his surprise though, calmly flipping away from the blond and whipping out a kunai.

The blond showed the thief no mercy and created two rasengans, one in each hand, and lunged at his foe. The enemy ninja redirected Naruto's arms with a swipe of his kunai, avoiding the brunt of the boy's attack. The bandit grunted as one of Naruto's rasengans grazed his stomach, tearing his black garb and tan flesh.

The bandit, named Hiroki, clutched his stomach and examined his foe. The boy stood still with his arms crossed, calmly observing him with his strange toad-like eyes. Hiroki's eyes narrowed as he saw the boy produce a shadow clone. He watched with confusion as the clone began molding chakra into the boy's hand.

Hiroki quickly grabbed his hefty blade and swiftly appeared behind the blond, attempting to interrupt the indubitably deadly jutsu the blond was preparing. In one fluid motion he kneed the clone, effectively dispelling it, and made a wide, fierce slash at the boy's neck.

Naruto dropped forward, landing on both hands, and aimed a sharp kick at the man's stomach. Naruto grinned as he felt it connect and flipped away from the bandit, readying himself to fight him with Frog Kata rather than jutsus.

Hiroki coughed as he watched his blood hit the ground in front of him. How was this… teenager beating him? Hiroki smirked as he noticed his opponent was weaponless; this time he would be the one unscathed. He readied his blade and charged at the boy.

Naruto leapt into action and dodged the bandit's heavy swings. Naruto knew that one hit from the blade would probably lose him the battle, unfortunately for Hiroki, he was far too slow to keep up with Naruto's sage mode.

The ramen-loving ninja was disappointed. After his intense battle with Pein, all of his battles seemed boring. Effortlessly dodging another blow from the bandit, Naruto thought, "I guess missions aren't made to be fun."

Naruto turned serious, watching his opponent's eyes widen as his thrust hit his throat. With that, his adversary fell to the ground gasping for breath. "What… was… that? I… k-know I dodged it," he gasped.

Naruto offered a wry smile, "Frog Kata," he simply stated. Naruto leaned down close to his fallen enemy and held a kunai against the man's neck. The man looked at Naruto with cold eyes, not even attempting to resist. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto whispered as he ended the man's life, "Don't you forget it."

Hiroki was obviously the leader of the group, as the other five went down easily. Naruto took out the other two groups with his varied rasengans. They never even saw him coming.

Naruto groaned, "How am I going to tell Granny that the A-rank mission was practically a joke? I can't come back to her within two days! Oh well," Naruto decided, "I guess I'll stake out the rest of the border and eliminate any other threats I come across."

The search yielded no results. The biggest threat he found was the lone squirrel that crossed his path. Naruto grumbled, "I suppose I'll just head back to Konoha. I wonder what Granny will say."

Naruto found the odd ripple in the air as he made his trip back through the barren forest. Falling through the dark sky, Naruto took note of the strange, unfamiliar surroundings. Landing safely on the floor, Naruto cautiously proceeded through the new area allowing his sharp senses to guide him to the voice that had been infiltrating his mind.

* * *

Kurumu regarded the blond with a frigid look, mentally preparing herself for battle. Unfortunately, she could not seem to halt her sobs, nor could she stop the quivers that coursed throughout her body. The palpable rejection of the person she loved the most, even though he never plainly stated it, was too much for her frail body to take.

The normally feisty succubus was completely and totally aware of her vulnerable position. She knew that a fight with the unannounced stranger would be hopeless in her current condition. She absolutely hated feeling weak, especially since she had trained so hard in an attempt to match the elegant Moka. Stifling her sobs, Kurumu continued to glower at the approaching man. There was no way she was going down without a fight.


	3. Chapter 2

Naruto looked at the trembling girl through his deep, blue eyes, trying not to show his surprise as the scene in front of him twisted. His eyes seemed to blur for a second as his surroundings appeared to distort. For a moment, the air transformed as if it was being stretched and then compressed.

The dark sky acquired a faint, crimson hue and began warp as the air began to shift in wavelike patterns. For a brief moment, the air became heavy and stifling, making it hard for Naruto to breathe. Assuming the air's odd behavior was the girl's genjutsu, Naruto discreetly let out a burst of chakra to dispel it. When nothing happened, he could only ignore the illusions.

Still maintaining his composure, he continued to approach the sobbing girl. In the background, Naruto could make out buildings that were shrouded by the undulating, dark sky.

His surroundings seemed to stop shifting when the girl finally halted her muted sobs. The background settled into a dark, gloomy, and hopeless feel. He warily observed the girl's nails extend, and out of the corner of his eye, he continued to observe his surroundings for any movement.

The now dangerous atmosphere, created by the girl's readiness to fight, didn't faze Naruto. He finally found the girl that had been calling out to him, and he would save her, strange genjutsu be damned.

As a child, he had always wished that someone would reach out to him and save him. He had always longed for someone to save him from the eternal loneliness he couldn't shake off. Naruto muttered a soft promise. He would give this girl happiness.

Naruto looked her straight in the eyes and offered his trademark grin, "Hey, are you okay? Do you need some help?" he asked, kneeling down and offering his hand to the girl.

The girl hardly paid attention to his kind words. She shakily got to her feet and weakly jumped backwards the moment Naruto began to extend his hand. The pale girl tried, in a vain attempt, to growl at him, "Don't touch me! I don't need your help."

Naruto slowly stood up, "Are you sure? I once thought that I could handle everything by myself. Every time things would go bad and I would just plaster on a smile. I was too stubborn to ask for help. I was too stubborn to consider letting somebody else share my burden."

"What gives you the right to lecture me?" the girl demanded, "You don't know anything about me!"

Blue eyes locked onto her violet eyes for a brief moment. Sure, Naruto knew nothing about her, but from her eyes he could tell that she was wearing a mask. He could tell that she craved love and acceptance. He could tell that she was similar to him. With that in mind, he made the decision to do the right thing, not the easy one.

Naruto pressed on, "Let me help you. You just have to trust me."

"Trust you?! What makes you think I would be so naïve as to accept help from a stranger? I'm not some hopeless girl that needs to rely on others!" Kurumu rasped at him, her voice was too hoarse to yell.

"Hmm… Why can you trust me?" Naruto let his smile fall, showing the face he constantly hid in his childhood, "Just look into my eyes, they look just like yours."

The petite girl wouldn't budge, "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but as I said before, I'm not naïve. I won't fall for your tricks. Just leave me alone."

"Just tell me what I can do for you, okay?" Naruto patiently requested.

The girl scoffed, "You'll do whatever I want?" receiving an earnest nod from the blond, she continued, "Fine, get out of here."

With the little spirit she had left, she quickly lunged at him with her sharp nails, propelling herself forward with her dark wings. She frowned at her dull movements, was it Tsukune's rejection that left her so weak?

Naruto's lips twitched, trying to hide a smile, as he effortlessly sidestepped away from the girl's attack. Unfortunately, that meant that Kurumu was now falling fast towards the solid pavement. Acting on pure instinct, Naruto cut her forward plunge short by diving between her and the ground.

"Are you alright?" Naruto murmured into the girl's shoulder. He found his arms wrapped haphazardly around her thin body, and his face pressed against her shoulder. The girl's nails left a small gash on his cheek, and her arms dangled loosely at her sides.

With the pale girl still in his arms, Naruto shifted so he was sitting up with the girl on his lap. The blond groaned, "Just my luck. She's unconscious."

Afraid the girl would react like Sakura used to at the faintest touch, Naruto quickly released his dark orange sleeping bag from one of his seals, laying it out on the concrete floor. He gently lowered the shivering girl into the sleeping back and zipped it back up.

Looking closer at the girl, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. Despite her obvious, unhealthy condition, she was still gorgeous. Bright blue hair framed her pale face, but the beads of sweat running down her face seemed to mar her perfection. Noting her laborious breaths, Naruto examined her in concern, but he wasn't able to pinpoint the cause of her sickness.

Now that the girl was unconscious, the sky returned to its normal, blue color. Naruto frowned, he couldn't hear anything else. Tall buildings, trash cans, and other objects were littered around the city, but it was completely silent.

Looking into the distance, Naruto discovered that the city was the same everywhere he looked. The buildings and cans seemed to repeat at infinite amount of times in every direction.

Naruto unceremoniously plopped himself down next to the unconscious girl, placing his chin in his hands. How was he going to get out of here? He only knew that he entered this place through a strange ripple and that the transforming sky and repeating landscape made it obvious that this place wasn't real.

The ninja knitted his eyebrows in deep thought, was this bizarre place a product of the girl's mind? The only possibility he could come up with was that he was trapped in this girl's genjutsu, but he had yet to be so deeply rooted in one that he couldn't dispel it.

Trying to disperse the genjutsu once again, Naruto let out a large burst of chakra hoping that he would have more luck this time around. To his disappointment, nothing happened. The surrounding scenery remained the same.

The blue haired girl shifted in her unconscious slumber. "Oops… did I wake her up?" Naruto murmured.

The girl let out a moan as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. When her eyes adjusted to her current surroundings she jolted awake, quickly moving out of the sleeping bag to her feet. The quick movement left her sickly body disoriented causing her to kneel for a moment to regain her composure.

Noticing that Naruto was already moving towards her in an attempt to help, the frustrated girl let out a choked noise, "I refused your offer to help and then tried to attack you for showing me kindness. Why did you still help me? Why didn't you just leave me here? You don't even know me!" an image of Tsukune popped into her mind, "Why are all of you humans so idiotic?"

Kurumu stood still for a moment and thought, "_He obviously doesn't intend to hurt me," _eyeing the sleeping bag, "_But I still shouldn't trust him."_

Naruto appeared shocked at her outburst, _"Humans…?"_ he thought, _"What is this girl?"_

Responding to his look of shock, the girl snapped, "Do you just help anyone that you think needs it? Does everyone just blindly accept it? Well sorry, I'm not that weak!"

Naruto opened his mouth in protest before the girl cut him off, "C-Can you just leave me alone? There isn't anything you can do, honestly. Just… get out of here."

"You're not just any-" receiving an amused look from the girl he tried again, "I can't just leave someo-" the girl raised an eyebrow, prompting him to try once again, "I couldn't get out of here, even if I wanted to," he stated with a sheepish smile.

Deciding it would be best to drop the topic for now, he asked, "Where are we anyways?" he continued without any tact, "It's really weird here."

The girl appeared dumbfounded at his question, "We're in a dimension that... Wait, how did you get here?!"

"Err…" Naruto said awkwardly, "I was hoping you could tell me that? I don't really know how I got here… it was like I just dropped in. The sky kept transforming though… different colors and shapes, it's rather strange. And anyways, I'm not leaving until I'm sure you're happy!" he cheerfully finished.

Faintly embarrassed by the boy's proclamation, the girl stammered, "I'm a succubus, so I have the ability to create illusions and delve into people's minds. I know that we're inside my mental mindscape right now, but I have no idea why you're here with me. I came here to get away from everyone."

The blonde's face appeared to be scrunched up in thought, "You're a succubus!? That's so cool!" he proclaimed in excitement.

The girl crossed her arms, "Did you even listen to anything I said after that?"

"Yeah yeah," Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Mental mindscape. I have one of those too."

"Care to elaborate?" the girl asked.

"I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to tell you… but basically I have a demon sealed inside of me. From time to time it'll call me or I'll just drop in to have a talk with it," Naruto explained.

"That doesn't explain why you're here," the girl huffed, "Why are you in my mind?"

Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his head, "I know that this sounds strange, but I felt you calling for me."

The girl scoffed, "Calling for you? It's like I told you, I don't need anybody's help."

The blond sat down in front of her, gesturing her to sit. He smiled when she slowly sat down in front of him and asked, "Then why were you crying when I dropped in?"

"Why should I tell you?" she narrowed her eyes. "It's not like you can help me."

Naruto restrained a groan. This girl was harder to get through than Tsunade! "Let's just talk it out. It can't hurt, right?"

Kurumu eyed him for a moment before sighing, "I guess we both have nothing else to do until we can figure out why you're here and how to get back… So fine, I guess we can talk about it-," she paused.

"Naruto. My name's Uzumaki Naruto," he told her.

She hid a smile at his strange name, "Kurono Kurumu."

"So, tell me your story."

"Succubi are creatures that live off of love," she started.

Kurumu watched as he settled into a more comfortable position, resting his chin in his hands and looking intently at her before she continued, "We have an ability to 'charm' males and command them as we wish."

At Naruto's horrified look, she grimaced, "We do this in order to find our Destined One."

Tears began to form in the girl's eyes and she clutched at her heart, already unable to continue her story.

Naruto looked torn, should he try to comfort her again? Last time it wasn't well received. In a split second he moved, slowly lowering his hand on her back. He proceeded to soothingly rub her back, urging her to continue.

Kurumu flinched, and Naruto stopped for a moment. She took a deep breath and continued, signaling that his ministrations were okay with her.

"I found my Destined One when he protected me." She took a shaky breath, "He protected me even though I was cruel to him. I didn't deserve it. That was the first time anyone had stood up for me. It was the first time I had felt… love

"He… was already in love with a girl, and his kindness attracted many others. Despite that, he continued to show kindness to all of us, and for us monsters, that's rare for us. Most of us are used to being shunned and despised by humans, and as we accepted him as a human, he accepted us."

Naruto frowned, _"She's like me. It wasn't until I got to the academy that I received kindness for the first time… I can imagine how that would feel to her."_

Kurumu spoke softly, _"_It's so hard not to fall in love with him." She paused for a moment, "I know for a fact that at least four more girls are in love with him, but he doesn't choose."

Her voice cracked, "No matter how much love I show him. No matter how hard I try to gain his affections, he only has eyes for her."

Her amethyst eyes began to water, "I-I think I've known it this whole time, from the moment I met him. I guess I was just too stubborn to admit it – too stubborn to give up."

Naruto continued to offer the comfort he could give, trying to reign in his temper. This bastard should pay for making such a beautiful girl suffer so much. He waited patiently for her to continue her story, wisely deciding that it wasn't a good idea to interrupt.

Kurumu continued, "T-Tsu-Tsukune. His name's Tsukune. Right now he's undergoing intense training in order to save Moka – the girl that he's in love with. I know that she's the only one that he has eyes for. Moka is the only one that he's ever looked at."

"That doesn't explain your condition," Naruto frowned.

Kurumu gave him a brief, piercing look before continuing, "As I said before, succubi are creatures that live off love. Love is everything, and if I can't even get my Destined One to accept me…"

Naruto looked at her, terrified. For some reason, he knew what the girl was going to say.

"At this rate," she shakily went on. "I think I really will die." She finished, breaking down in tears.

Naruto's mind reeled. The thoughts that haunted him throughout the day and night were confirmed. "_Not if I can help it,"_ he thought.

The blond reacted on instinct alone. If he had taken a moment to think, he might have considered that the girl would push him away or hit him, like most of his female friends in Konoha would.

Without a thought, he hugged her. He hugged her as tight as he could, as if he thought he could hold her shattered heart together.

Much to her chagrin, Kurumu found that she was unable to halt the sobs that coursed throughout her body. For a moment, she was surprised at the warmth that the boy exhibited.

Her first instinct was to tense up and push him away, but she couldn't deny that his warmth was soothing. She left her arms by her sides and continued to cry, incapable of holding them back any longer.

"How could he do this to you?" Naruto whispered. "If I've understood you correctly, you've done nothing but show him your true feelings! How's that fair to you?! You deserve way more than that!" Naruto fumed.

Kurumu forcibly pushed him away, almost collapsing because of her sudden physical exertion. "Don't say that," she protested, "Even though he's essentially rejected me, I still love him."

"I'm sorry. I just can't stand to see anyone in so much pain," Naruto whispered.

She sobbed again, "I-I'm sorry for being so weak. I'm normally not like this."

"It's okay," he offered her a gentle smile. "Everyone has to show their weaknesses sometime, right?"

Kurumu slowly nodded.

"But look! You already look better!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're moving around a lot better and your voice sounds stronger."

"See?" he grinned, "Talking does make everything better!"

Kurumu looked at him, dumbfounded by his kindness. This whole time he was only showing consideration for her. "_Maybe_," she thought, _"He doesn't have an ulterior motive. Maybe he's just another one of those gentle humans."_

"What I don't understand is," Naruto started, pursing his lips in concentration, "You said that he rejected you, right?"

Kurumu flinched and grimaced, "Well yes, although not explicitly."

"And I can say that you've… given up on winning his love?" Naruto prodded.

"Yes…." Kurumu admitted, painfully. "I want what's best for Tsukune."

"And succubi are creatures that depend on love? Based on what you said earlier, love is essentially your… ah… how do I say this?" Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, "Love is essentially your… life force?"

"I guess you could put it that way…" Kurumu slowly confirmed his question. "My mother once told me that love is the source of power for a succubus. A heartbroken succubus is merely a shadow of herself," she bitterly finished.

"Then why are you still alive?" he bluntly asked her.

Kurumu looked offended, "Excuse me?"

"You say love is ultimately your life source; you can't live without it. Any kind of rejection brings pain. Since you're a succubus, I'm assuming it's much more intense. If your Destined One rejected you, then how are you still standing before me?"

The blue haired girl paused for a moment, trying to resist running away from the entire situation. "I honestly don't know," she sheepishly admitted. "Not every succubus is able to find their Destined One. I can't really know for sure, and it's not normal for a succubus to not win over her Destined One."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

She pushed down the urge to ignore his persistent questions. Unfortunately for her, there was nowhere she could run to. "We have the ability to charm men. Using our eyes we can make them fall in love with us."

"I take it you didn't use it on Tsukune?"

"I did before I knew him, but he snapped out of it by thinking about Moka. When I discovered that he was my Destined One, I resolved to make him fall in love with me on his own terms. I wouldn't ever want a man that I forced to be with me. I wanted… true love, not a slave." Kurumu told him.

Naruto continued to question her, "How do you know he's your Destined One?"

"I know because I love him. He's always been so kind to me, always looking out for me and protecting me. I've never doubted it for a second." Kurumu firmly stated.

Naruto shut his mouth before opening it again. He hesitated and asked, "What if… it's just love? You say succubi don't always find their Destined One, but that doesn't mean they can't find love. And despite your broken heart, you still stand. You're in immense pain, but you're alive. Doesn't that present the possibility that he's not your Destined O-"

Naruto was cut off by a resounding slap.

"Don't say it!" Kurumu yelled, huffing in anger.

Somewhere in Kurumu's mind, she could find a morsel of truth in Naruto's words. Part of her mind realized that since Naruto had gotten here, her physical condition had taken a turn for the better. That same part of her mind acknowledged his words. Maybe this was just heartbreak. Maybe she could eventually recover.

However, Kurumu was not in tune with that part of her mind. Those thoughts were left untouched as she tried to control her anger at her beliefs being doubted.


	4. Chapter 3

Naruto gingerly touched his cheek. The blue haired girl had slapped him with all of her emotions and strength. From his incessant questions about her personal life, he was fully aware that it was warranted, which was why he hadn't dodged.

Unlike her deeply wounded heart, his slight injury was insignificant and would heal quickly, even without the fox helping him. The emotional strength of the blow was the brute of it – physically he was fine.

However, Naruto was perplexed. The impact of the girl's emotions shouldn't have affected him as much as they did.

The blond considered the girl's words for a moment. The girl had a point, he couldn't know who her Destined One was, and he really didn't have a right to say anything about the matter, but he couldn't hold back. He couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in his gut that told him to push the matter. For some reason that he couldn't fathom, he knew Kurumu was wrong, not that he'd ever be able to explain that to her.

The path that she set herself on would prove to be nothing but detrimental to her health. Naruto struggled with the knowledge of what would happen to the succubus if she remained as stubborn as she'd proven to be thus far. At this rate, he knew that she would perish sooner or later, but could he save a girl that was so adamant about remaining broken?

Naruto couldn't honestly say that he had felt heart break before. Sure, Sakura had rejected him, but when compared to the succubus' palpable pain, could he really say it hurt to the point where it could be called heart break? Her constant rejections he received when he was younger had really pushed him away. He wasn't stupid – he knew that it was pointless to seriously pursue her. She was too attached to Sasuke to even consider him.

Eventually his daily attempts at asking her out for ramen became so commonplace that it was almost a ritual. Eventually he found that he didn't actually care if Sakura would bluntly refuse his invitation or not. When did he stop caring if Sakura had rejected him or not?

Despite the fact that Sasuke had left years ago, Naruto knew that Sakura still wasn't over him. Her fan girl infatuation was eradicated, but only to be replaced with an obsession. Sakura was determined to kill Sasuke. Naruto speculated that she wanted to be rid of the memories of ever loving him – with her own hands she wanted to remove the man that had held her heart for so long.

As of now, he could say that he was still attracted to her, it was hard not to be, but in love with her? He definitely loved her, but it seemed to have grown into a more familial relationship. His relationship with Sakura was a precious one, even though it wasn't romantic.

He assumed that the abuse and neglect he received from the villagers had pushed him to try to latch onto any love or affection he could receive. Sakura happened to be the girl he latched onto first.

Naruto thought back on the fateful day he met his favorite kunoichi. He remembered it vividly.

_He sighed wistfully, looking overtop the park. Sitting under a clear blue sky was nice, but he envied the other village kids that were playing with each other. He longed for the company of a friend – any friend. But every time he got close to another kid, they'd give him a distasteful look._

_On the rare occasions that he wasn't met with a look of disgust, his happiness was short lived. One of their parents or another adult would walk up and lead whomever he was talking to away._

_The blond let out another sigh. He was sitting alone on top of a tree branch. Last time he tried to join the other kids in a game, they just ignored him. The closest thing he could to do join in on the fun was to watch them. _

_When he got bored of observing, he casually hopped down the tree and started to head to his favorite ramen stand. He abruptly came to a stop when he heard a girl sobbing._

_A small, cute girl with pink hair was crying by the playground. A group of boys surrounded her, pointing and jeering at her. When Naruto first saw the scene before him, his hands clenched in a gesture of pure fury as he watched the group of boys walk away, laughing._

_Just before he gathered to courage to start making his way towards the girl to comfort her, he saw a girl with platinum blonde hair confidently approach her. He paused and watched for a moment to make sure the girl wasn't there to bully the pink haired girl as well._

_"Hey Sakura, don't cry," was the last thing the blond heard before he turned around and followed the small group of boys._

_"So her name is Sakura," Naruto mused. "Well Sakura, I know how that feels, and I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy. After all, that's what a great Hokage would do."_

_Naruto slowly approached the group from the shadows, making sure to stay close. When the boys walked out of the girls' line of vision, Naruto confronted the boys._

_Moments later, a bruised and beaten Naruto stood with a faint smile on his face as he watched the boys retreat, "As long as I know that I've protected her, I'll be happy, even if she never notices or acknowledges my actions. As future Hokage, I will always protect my precious ones."_

Naruto held himself back from smiling at his memories. How many times had he protected her from afar after that incident?

Naruto's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he heard a girl shriek.

"Tsukune is my Destined One!" Kurumu protested. "Don't try to tell me that he's not!"

_"Oops," _Naruto groaned. _"I really shouldn't reminisce when I'm in the middle of arguing with someone."_

Naruto resisted the urge to smash his face against the ground. This girl was way too stubborn for her own good. How was he supposed to get her to accept the obvious truth?

After a moment of thought, Naruto planned the best course of action.

_"Fine,"_ Naruto smiled_, "As future Hokage, I'll protect you from yourself. It's devious and slightly risky, but it's a plan worthy of a ninja."_

"If you say so, I'll believe you. I assume you made this illusion that we're in? If you made it, you can get us out, right?" Naruto queried.

Kurumu blinked a moment at Naruto's sudden acceptance and sudden change in topic. "I guess so," she muttered halfheartedly, "I'll give it a shot."

The succubus closed her eyes for a moment. What was she supposed to do? She didn't even know how she brought Naruto here.

_"Ugh," _she thought. _"I can't do this. How am I supposed to reverse something that I created unintentionally? There's no w-" _

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soothing voice, "You need to believe in yourself. You have more power and potential than you realize."

She concentrated for a moment, picturing the scene in front of her fading away.

Her eyes opened at Naruto's excited voice, "Ah, I knew you could do it! Call me again if you need me!"

Naruto was hovering in the air, turning his head to look around at his body. Giving a quick nod, as if to affirm everything was still there, he started to fade away. The last thing she saw from the attractive man was a roguish grin and an enthusiastic wave as he vanished.

Kurumu was left dumbfounded as the boy disappeared, realizing that she obviously didn't have a grasp of the extent of her powers.

"Wait… call you?" she queried when his words finally processed, "How am I supposed to do that?"

She gingerly got to her feet, noting that she felt much better than she did prior to her meeting with the boy.

"Humph," she huffed. "Why did he leave me with so many questions and so few answers?"

As she looked around, she realized she was in the same place she had collapsed before her meeting with Naruto in Touhou Fuhai's dimension. She slowly stood up and began walking back to her friends.

The sound of her footsteps on pavement echoed through the empty area. As she walked away, she experienced a strong feeling of loss. Chalking it up to being away from Tsukune for so long, she shrugged and continued her walk, ignoring the pain that had returned.

"That was strange," Kurumu thought aloud. "I didn't know that succubi had the capability of creating their own dream world and bringing another being to it.

I wonder if there's anything else that we can do. I don't recall my mother telling me anything about the power of our species other than the fact that strong succubi are able to create illusions. I'll call my mom and ask her about it later," she finished.

* * *

Naruto gracefully landed in the same place he was prior to meeting with Kurumu.

He looked around at the orange sky and the sun that had almost receded behind the bare trees – it was a lot later than he had expected, meaning that time had not paused when he dropped into Kurumu's mindscape, or whatever it was.

The blond started setting up camp – it was too dark to start heading back to the village, and he was already days ahead of his schedule. In normal circumstances he would have rushed back to the village to see Granny Tsunade and the rest of his friends, but his encounter with Kurumu had changed his typical routine.

The blond decided to loiter around for a couple of days and relax to make sure Kurumu was alright. He didn't know if he had to be in the same general vicinity to receive Kurumu's call, and if his prediction of Kurumu's behavior was correct, he didn't want to miss it.

From what he sensed, he knew Kurumu was very powerful. With his enhanced senses, the sage was able to detect a great power, despite its obvious deterioration. From what Naruto had seen from her actions and brief fight, he could safely assume that her potential was an untapped gold mine.

Despite how he spoke to Kurumu earlier, he really had no idea how the girl's powers worked, and when he asked the fox, he received a sharp bark of laughter. When Naruto politely prompted the fox again for an answer, he received a smirk. The small tantrum he may or may not have thrown at the fox's refusal to help probably didn't help him in his quest for a decent answer.

As he set up his tent he mused, "I wonder how long it'll take Kurumu to figure out how to call me. If I read the situation correctly, I'm positive that she'll want to contact me at some point, whether she realizes it or not."

Naruto slid into his sleeping bag and folded his hands behind his head. His journey left him too exhausted to do some late night training like he normally did, so he found himself drifting into a peaceful sleep.

Not too long later, his eyes shot open. They fiercely surveyed their surroundings to find… nothing?

The blond seemed to be in a surprisingly lucid dream. There seemed to be no end, no walls, and no floor. Everything seemed to extend for an infinite amount of feet. Everything was a light shade of gray.

Naruto looked down at his feet. They weren't on solid floor. He took an experimental, hesitant step, to find that he could walk normally.

He slowly paced as he tried to work out where he was. He had never been one to have lucid dreams, and it didn't appear to be a genjutsu.

Strangely, the more he walked, the darker his surroundings got, until – until he found shapes beginning to form and solidify out of nothing.

After some time, Naruto was able to make out a bedroom. The bed was large and framed with oak. As his eyes began to focus and adjust he was able to make out a girl tossing and turning under the pale green sheets.

"Kurumu?" Naruto breathed.

He watched, helpless, as her face contorted into one of pain, and all of the sudden, he found himself being pulled towards her.

Naruto wildly flailed his arms in an attempt to stop from colliding with the sleeping beauty. His eyes widened as he found himself unable to slow himself, causing him to close his eyes and brace himself for impact.

And once again, he found himself falling into nothing. He let out a heavy sigh, when would this stop?

He wearily stood up and looked around. The walls were gray, again, so he waited. Seconds passed before he heard melancholy rain hit the ground that solidified beneath him.

He walked forward to stand behind Kurumu. Except this time, she sitting on the floor with her hands wrapped around her knees, sobbing.

Naruto stood a few feet behind her, almost waiting for a response. He heard her wavering voice, "Tsukune, why didn't you choose to love me? Why did you show me your kindness even when you loved another?"

The blond watched a scene play out before his eyes, presumably one of Kurumu's memories.

Naruto saw Tsukune, he assumed, a man speaking to the back of a girl who was crouched down on the ground.

_"Moka," _he said, _"Ever since I've first met you, I've liked you." _

Tsukune continued his heartfelt confession, _"I want to stay by your side… Stay by your side forever and ever."_

The scene slowly faded away and his attention focused back on Kurumu's form. The succubus continued to cry, and Naruto felt his chest clench at the girl's heartbreak.

She whispered, her voice raspy from crying, "Please, someone just fix my heart. I'm not ready to die. I'm not ready to leave my friends behind."

He approached her and moved to pat her on the shoulder, assuming like last time, he'd pass through nothing again.

To his surprise, and abject horror, his hand made contact with her shoulder and the succubus' head whipped around to look at him.

Her violet eyes swirled in a maelstrom of emotions, "It's you," she whispered. "Why… how are you here?"

Naruto nearly shuddered at the lack of inflection in her cold voice. Not knowing the real reason he had appeared, he made up a response on the spot. Matching her tone of voice, Naruto simply stated, "You called for me."

Changing his tone of voice back to his normal one, "And look, your tears have started to fade already."

To his disappointment, she deadpanned, "Yeah, I guess…"

He tried to flash his trademark grin to alleviate her pain, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. The falling rain and dreary setting made it hard to smile when the girl was obviously in so much pain.

His hand still on her shoulder, he began to think of his happier moments in hope that he could somehow transfer them to her. If she had shared her devastating memories with her, even if it was unintentional, there wasn't any reason he shouldn't be able to do the same.

Naruto recalled his memories where he felt warmth. Where he wasn't on the receiving end of heaps and heaps of abuse from the bitter villages, and the rare moments he could actually connect with someone. He focused on his memories with his friends and his makeshift family: Sakura, Kakashi, Tsunade, and everyone else that had grown to accept him as Naruto, the human being, and not just the fox.

Kurumu almost jumped at the feelings of warmth that began to rush through her. _"Is this warmth coming from Naruto?" _she wondered. _"It almost feels as if I can breathe again."_

She looked up at Naruto and murmured, "Thank you…" For a creature of love and emotion, she was surprised that she couldn't put the gratitude she felt for him into words.

Naruto gave a light smile as he watched Kurumu's eyes began to calm and her tears come to a complete halt. "Hey, no need to thank me," he said. "I'm happy to just know that I'm of some assistance to you. As I said, I'll always be there if you need me."

The blue haired girl softly gasped as he seemed to float away. When he faded completely from her vision, she found her eyes opening and staring into her temporary room in Fuhai's dimension.

With a heart that was slightly fuller and skin that was slightly warmer, Kurumu slid out of bed and set out to train for the oncoming battle.


End file.
